The Trust of a Liar
by KatrinaLinden
Summary: Doc, possessed by O'Malley, finds himself stuck in a snowstorm. Knowing his luck, he hardly expects to be saved, least of all saved by an old friend. Holly, still dealing with her past with Project Freelancer and trying to ignore the not-very-new mistrust of all those around her, doesn't expect for her only friend and old enemy to suddenly need her help.


**Stupid login. I have to edit this all over again now v_v.**

**I'm going to publish this now, despite not being able to get on in the next few weeks. Let's see how this is received before I write too much. Partial thanks to Violent Medic for the idea for this fic; it was her 'Murderer's Row' (Read it!) that made me pity Doc so much. The guy has been through a tough time. **

**Set: Somewhere during the period where the Reds and Blues are hunting Doc and O'Malley.**

**I use linebreaks for change in scene, ~ for POV changes.**

Snow swept around him, as though eager to veil him from the world. Despite the heating systems in his armour, cold crept through the purple plating. Shaking and stumbling blindly, Doc would have fallen by now were it not for O'Malley. The A.I. pushed him onwards without listening to the medic's pleas.

The blizzard had surprised them, leaving the two stranded in the middle of nowhere. The Reds and Blues had managed to find their most recent base and O'Malley had been unable to find another.

"O-O'Malley... P-p-please le-let me s-stop." Doc's voice trembled with cold to the point where his words were barely understandable.

_Soon,_ O'Malley muttered, almost tenderly. It was important the medic held on to his remaining hope; it would not be good to loose his host here; without another person to jump to, he would be automatically deleted upon Doc's death.

Doc's armour had found the location of a nearby military base. It was occupied, but the A.I. would rather depend on Doc's ability to convince others of his harmlessness than succumb to the _snow_. What a pitiful way to die.

* * *

"Ma'm, we have detected someone heading directly towards us." Holly looked up from the screen, annoyed at being distracted from her work.

"Show me," she ordered, following the grey-armoured soldier. He pointed her to a rather old-style radar which displayed the perimeter of the base, as well as the surrounding area within a half-kilometre radius. A single dot inched slowly towards the centre, no more than two hundred metres away. A single person on foot, probably freezing, against twenty or so armed soldiers.

"Let them in, be cautious yet not hostile. Allow them shelter and medicine if needed. I will interrogate them soon."

The soldier nodded, leaving with a quick 'yes ma'm'.

Holly sighed, looking at the incredibly dull report she had been typing up. It could wait.

* * *

Doc had needed little more than escape from the weather. He accepted the warm food with silence, afraid he'd somehow let slip of O'Malley, who had now retreated inside his mind, content the medic was no longer in immediate danger. Few people reacted kindly to the fact he had a genocidal rage A.I. stuck in his head.

Bitterness seeped through him at the thought of the Reds and Blues, which he quickly suppressed. Doc believed it was O'Malley's fault; the A.I. often tried to mess with his emotions. Perhaps he wouldn't have ended up like this had both teams not forgotten him, but they hadn't meant for him to be infected

_Yet they still try to kill you._

"Shut up," Doc huffed.

"Sorry?"

The medic yelped as a soldier in black armour stepped into the room. His first thought was of Tex, but when she removed her helmet, O'Malley assured him Texas looked nothing like that.

She had fiery hair; sometimes bright orange, elsewhere blood red. Her skin was pale, contrasting with the rich dark blue of her eyes.

"Holly?" Doc whispered in shock.

Holly blinked. She studied the purple armour, biting her lip in confusion. "Take off your helmet."

Once he had, it was clear she recognised him.

"DuFresne?"

The medic nodded, still afraid to speak up, though O'Malley was currently quiet, rifling through Doc's memories in search of who this stranger was.

**~ Flashback ~**

The place Doc had learned medicine was, first and foremost, a military school. It had once been known mostly for its medical education, but with the war pushing at recourses, medics only received rudimentary training.

Doc had first met Holly after a rather tense class. He was a slow learner, and few of his teachers had the patience for him, so he was oft left struggling to figure out what the other students already knew.

He was passing the gym, trying to remember the specific names of the bones in the hand when a flash of red caught his eye. He looked closer to see a class of students, two of which were fighting hand-to-hand. The red hair was property of the definite winner; a young girl who expertly left her opponent on the ground within several hits.

He stopped and watched whilst she fought each classmate separately. Many students were fairly skilled, but none were a match for her. Doc had never admired violence before, but the way she made her fighting seem like dancing; each move smooth and controlled, captivated him.

He continued to watch until the class ended. The students left in groups, muttering to each other. Many a dark glare was sent to the red-head, who remained in the gym, distractedly looking at a notice on the door.

Doc wondered whether to move to his next class when half his notes fell from his hands.

"Shi- I mean, oops." Doc scrambled to pick up the papers. He looked up to see the red-head leaning against the door, head tilted and staring at him.

"Were you watching me?" Her voice was slightly amused, though the words were incredibly blunt.

"No! I... uh, well yes, but... You're a really good fighter." Were Doc to be honest with himself, the compliment was just a silent please don't hurt me.

The comment had the opposite effect; her mouth twisted into a scowl, and she flicked her head back to the door. "Not good enough, apparently."

Despite the distance between himself and the notice, Doc could still make out the words **'PROJECT FREELANCER',** written in bold font. He had heard all the rumors; Project Freelancer was set to create the best soldiers in the universe- if humans won the war, Project Freelancer would be the reason.

"You tried out?"

The red-head nodded, sighing softly. "I beat almost everyone, but I failed to watch my team's back."

"Well, maybe you can try again?" She shrugged.

"Maybe. Still, perhaps being 'the best of the best' isn't worth giving up everything, you know?"

"Yeah," Doc muttered, looking at his sheets.

The red-head snatched the notes out of his hands, ignoring his cry of surprise as she studied them.

"Simple anatomy..."

"Yeah," he repeated. "I'm trying to memorise it for an upcoming test, but I'm not very good."

"I'll help you. Got nothing better to do." She grinned, giving the notes back. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Frank DuFresne. You?"

"Holly Shultz"

**~ End ~**

"Uh, what?" Doc shook his head, disoriented by O'Malley's searching.

"What were you doing out here, in the middle of nowhere during a snowstorm?"

"Umm..."

_Your ship crashed when you were passing by, following a call for medical help._

Doc repeated O'Malley's lie, glad the A.I. thought a lot faster than him.

"We haven't heard anything about a crashed ship. Surely we would have detected something..."

"Er... it was buried in the snow."

"Right."

Doc felt O'Malley mentally facepalm.

"Anyway. You can't leave until the weather calms, and that probably won't be for a few days. Chris here will show you around, and give you a room." She pointed to a soldier who was standing by the door. At the mention of his name, Chris jumped and looked at Holly.

"Why me?" He whined.

"Because. You're here." Holly smirked, ignoring the soldier's dark mutter.

"I'll be busy, so don't bother me unless you have to." With that she left, helmet back on her head.

_She's interesting... Almost familiar._

Unable to respond coherently -thoughts often wandered, and talking to O'Malley without speaking gave him a headache- Doc shrugged silently before following Chris. The young soldier grumpily showed the medic around, pointing out out the living quarters, kitchens, weapons rooms (he wasn't permitted to go there), offices (or there) and equipment rooms (definitely not there).

"How come it's more important that I don't mess with computers than guns?" Doc asked on O'Malley's request.

"This is a research base, dumbass. All the stuff the smart guys have found is on the computers."

"Holly's a researcher?" That seemed unlike her.

"Nah. That bitch's head of the guard. Doesn't stop her acting like she knows everything." And so began ten or so minutes of 'how Holly knows nothing and Chris should be in charge.'

_He's worse than the reds,_ O'Malley scoffed.

"Uh, Chris?"

"And I know she's a good pilot, but really. I do know how- Huh? What?" Chris finally broke from his rant, looking at Doc like he'd forgotten the medic was there.

"Holly said you'd point us-me to my room?"

"Right," Chris muttered, too distracted to notice Doc's slip-up.

_That was too close, you fool. Pay attention._

Chris lead Doc into the living quarters. Each door had one or two names above it, signs that they were occupied.

"This one's empty." Chris opened the door before turning and leaving, babysitting duty over. Doc stumbled inside, all too happy to go to sleep right now.

_Not too soon. We need to plan our next move._

Doc groaned. "Really? Can't it wait?"

_No! Wait too long and I shall be discovered, you're hardly the most discreet person._

"That's mean! I think I did a good job."

_Holly knows you're lying, and if it weren't for whatever friendship you two had, and Chris being an idiot, we'd be kicked back into the snow by now._

"Ok, fine. So what do we do?"

_You shut up, and I'll work it out._

"So, can I go to sleep?"

_No._ Doc opened his mouth to argue, but O'Malley continued, cruelty thick in his voice. _Go to sleep, and I might get bored. And you know what happens when I get bored..._

Phantom pains ran up Doc's arms and chest. "N...no, I'll stay awake. Just... p-please don't hurt me."

The sudden change in the medic brought a rush of satisfaction to the A.I.

_Good._ O'Malley's voice faded, and Doc was aware of his thoughts; assessing what they'd learned and finding what they should do.

Still a little shaken from O'Malley's threat, Doc lifted one sleeve of his purple shirt. Scars were scattered across his arm, some months old, others only days. A few were artistic; greek letters or symbols that O'Malley had found interesting at the time.

Doc sighed. He didn't want O'Malley dead, that was wrong. He just... wished the A.I. would leave him alone.

* * *

O'Malley had been right to assume Holly knew something. She'd had Doc's room bugged the moment she left him.

_"So, can I go to sleep?"_

_Pause..._

_"N...no, I'll stay awake. Just... p-please don't hurt me."_

The one-way conversation ended with Doc's shaky plea. Holly sighed, rubbing her forehead, where a headache was forming.

The last friend she'd made in years suddenly returned out of nowhere, and he either had some form of schizophrenia, or... something.

She knew few in the base trusted her. The words "Worked for Project Freelancer" seemed stamped above her head, like a curse. They wouldn't accept her word as the only proof for Doc's innocence for long. Hopefully she could get Doc to leave before anyone became suspicious of him.

"Uh, Holly?" She turned to the door, where one of the base's scientists stood.

"Mm?"

"We've contacted UNSC meteorologists. The snowstorm will most likely not pass for a week."

"Ok..." A week. A week to keep Doc out of everyone's notice.

Crap.

* * *

Doc was finding it very hard not to sleep. As much as he tried to scare himself into alertness, his eyelids kept drooping closed.

_Oh go to sleep. I'll leave you be._

"Y-you're not going to hurt me?"

_If we're going to get out of here, you need to have energy._

"Uh, OK."

Before he had a chance to empty his mind, the door swung open and Holly stomped in.

"We need to talk."

Doc blinked wearily. "Why won't any of you let me sleep. O'Malley only just-"

_You've done it now, fool._

"O'Malley! What?" Holly glared at him. "Where is he?" She hissed.

"I'm here, you idiot." O'Malley projected himself as a full size hologram, slightly purple in colour, but pale and transparent all the same.

Like Church, Doc mused.

To Holly's credit, she barely flinched as the ghostly figure appeared. "Got rid of Texas, did you?"

"Wait. You knew Tex?"

O'Malley cackled, and Doc recognised the thrill the A.I. received from knowing more than others.

"I was right. I do know you."

Doc was too tired for this. His mind was still caught on his armour and O'Malley sharing the same colour. "I thought you never got into Project Freelancer."

"I was never one of the Elites," Holly explained, not letting her eyes off the A.I. "I worked as one of their pilots for several years, before the Project began to fall apart. And I learnt enough later on to know you should definitely not have Omega- or O'Malley in your head."

"He didn't have much of a choice," O'Malley sniggered. "I'm afraid it was dear Tex who got rid of me. This idiot is nowhere near as useful, but he's fun to play with."

Holly's gaze left O'Malley at last. She looked at Doc with concern, mouth open as if to say something, but she didn't know what. The A.I. took his chance, running at Holly.

The redhead dived out of the way, though was distracted enough that she felt the slight tingle of the A.I. briefly being inside her.

"I'm sure this will be... amusing. I've been needing a more violent host." O'Malley grinned like the lunatic he was, whilst Doc tried to figure out a way to stop O'Malley without hurting or angering him.

Holly, warily keeping as far away from O'Malley as she could, pressed the button that activated her radio.

O'Malley snorted with laughter. He was loving this. "Call for help? You'll just make it easier for me. Radios are my speciality."

"Computer. Activate electromagnetic pulse." The room froze as a feminine robotic voice asked for a codeword.

"Now," continued Holly, smirking now she was suddenly in charge. "You're going to sit in the corner opposite Doc, and be quiet unless I tell you otherwise. I know the codeword-I created it- and I _will_ be able to say it before you can prevent me."

O'Malley did as he told. He was just a projection of armour, but Doc would have happily bet anything the A.I was glaring at Holly with all the hate in his coding.

Satisfied, Holly sat beside Doc. "You alright?" The medic shrugged.

"Tired more than anything. You?"

"Well, I might get fired if O'Malley's found, but otherwise, I'm ok. How'd you end up with an A.I. in your head?"

Doc sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He told Holly of the Reds and Blues, and how they'd left him in the caves. After a while O'Malley had just appeared in his head. He thought he'd gone mad for a while. "Eventually I got used to him, until of course he took over my body and tried to kill everyone. We ran off, and a whole lot of random stuff occurred, mostly due to O'Malley trying to take over the world, or universe, or whatever." Holly laughed at that, and O'Malley growled, clearly despising being ridiculed.

"And in all that time, you never tried to get rid of him?"

"He was in my head! Anything I planned, he'd know. And besides, if he left me with no one else around, he'd die."

"That's bad?" She raised an eyebrow, looking at him like he was the mad one.

"Yes!"

"You haven't changed." The two exchanged a small, hesitant smile.

**~ Flashback ~**

Doc spent a large amount of his free time at college trying to avoid any chance of a fight. Being among so many future soldiers made that incredibly hard. For some reason, many of the 'tough' guys found his pacifism a source of amusement.

"Hey pussyfest. Get into any good fights recently?" The speaker was one of three incredibly stereotypical bullies; big, muscular and stupid.

"No, I haven't." Doc didn't bother to correct him, he knew where this was going, and knew he couldn't change it.

"Maybe it's about time, then," another snorted, stepping just a little to close. Doc instinctively moved back, bumping into the third guy, who clapped two huge hands around his arms.

"You're such a pushover. This is almost too easy."

"Easy solution; go abuse someone else." Doc let out a very embarrassing yelp at the feminine voice.

Holly leant against the wall, expression stern.

"You volunteering?" The speaker replied, obviously trying to regain his dignity- he had jumped and spun in fright when Holly spoke.

Holly merely chuckled. Taking it as a yes, the man holding Doc's arms let go, moving to cover his friend's backs. Doc briefly wondered whether he should go help Holly, before giving up his delusions and realising he'd just get in the way. Instead he moved far enough away that he'd be able to run if need be.

Holly stood with the confidence of an experienced fighter, arms held loosely at chest level, knees bent, body tense and eyes flicking between her three rivals. She let them move first, blocking or shifting quickly before striking back whist they were off-balance, aiming at the stomach, head, chest and groin.

Strong though they were, Holly defeated them within a minute. "Too easy now?" She muttered, taking special care to step on the fingers of the first guy, who was currently curled up, groaning and clutching his crotch.

"That's mean," Doc whispered, looking at the three in pity.

Holly stared at him like he'd told her the world was flat, or something as stupid.

"They were about to _beat you up._"

"Violence doesn't stop violence," he chanted, suddenly regretting bringing his pacifist nature up.

Holly rolled her eyes, walking past him. "Violence is all those idiots know."

**~ End ~**

Holly, on Doc's request, had left the medic to sleep, so long as the door was locked and the bugs she had placed in the room remained there, in case O'Malley tried something.

The A.I. had remained silent, clearly fuming. Doc ignored him as he lay down, happily, finally, falling asleep.

O'Malley waited a little longer, still as ever. His possession of Doc allowed him to know for sure when the medic was unconscious; which occurred surprisingly quickly. He must have been more exhausted than O'Malley thought.

The A.I. stood and walked (well, drifted) towards the door. The lock was electronic, some magnetic construction that usually opened with a tap at the panel on the frame. Obviously, Holly had deactivated it; only she could open it, or so she claimed.

O'Malley was really starting to detest that girl. He'd taken little notice of her in Project Freelancer, nor anyone but Tex, really. Hell, he didn't even know her name before today. O'Malley regretted it now; he had no knowledge of her which he could use to his advantage. He might be able to get anything off Doc, but the medic was sometimes capable of blocking certain memories. The A.I. assumed he would do so if it protected his dear friend.

O'Malley wondered briefly what friendship the two had once had. Curiosity wasn't one of his virtues however, and the A.I. didn't really care. Besides he was too... not tired, not as Doc was. Worn out. O'Malley sighed, deciding to plot later. Inspiration would come with patience. Instead he turned his mind to Doc's dreams, letting his hologram vanish completely.

**Yay for long chapters. I'll keep it at this length, hopefully. Please review with any comments, criticism, edits or ideas you have. I honestly can't say when the next chapter comes out, aside from 'not soon'.**


End file.
